The boys' laughter was "indelible in the hippocampus", she said, using her scientific expertise to describe how memories are stored in the brain and adding: "It's locked in there".

White House spokesman Raj Shah said before the Judiciary Committee vote that the administration believes "things are moving in the right direction" for Kavanaugh's confirmation and that the White House is continuing to engage with undecided senators.

"Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him", the president tweeted just minutes after the close of the hearing.

That prompted Feinstein to protest, blaming the leak to the media or "beach friends" with whom Ford testified she discussed the claims.

In addition to Blasey Ford, two other women have come forward with allegations of assault against Kavanaugh, against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement.

Even if senators vote down his confirmation, he said, "you'll never get me to quit".

In Phoenix, Kelly Moore said that she found Kavanaugh to be more believable.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who told Kavanaugh during the hearings, "you've got nothing to apologize for", said if Democrats truly wanted an FBI investigation, they could have spoken up when Democratic Sen.

Kavanaugh himself touted that rating at Thursday's emotionally-charged hearing where he denied Ford's sworn testimony that he attempted to rape her when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh entered the hearing room fuming and ready to fight, as he angrily denied the charges from Ford and other women accusing him of misconduct, barked back at senators and dismissed some questions with a flippant "whatever". Ford, a psychology professor, acted as her own expert witness, clinically detailing her own trauma with terms like "sequela" - the aftereffect of an injury - in a testimony laden with heavy and powerful moments.

"My family and my name have been permanently destroyed by vicious and false accusations", Kavanaugh said.

Bush has spoken to Republicans Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of ME as well as Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia over the past several days - in an effort that the personal familiar with the outreach says Bush initiated.

Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, and can only afford one defection in their bid to confirm Kavanaugh, assuming they secure no Democratic votes.

"This confirmation process has become a national disgrace", he said. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who has frequently sparred with President Trump, announced he would support the nominee Thursday night.

"Late Thursday, the magazine of the Jesuit religious order in the United States withdrew its endorsement of Kavanaugh, saying the nomination was no longer in the interests of the country and "should be withdrawn". "I like beer", he said, but he also said he had never passed out and never attacked Ms Ford. "That is why I was one of the first members of the Senate to call on the judiciary committee to delay the original vote on the nomination so that both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh could provide additional information".

"I have no authority to force an executive branch agency to conduct an investigation into a matter it considers to be closed, " he said at the hearing.

Republicans, including President Trump, have stressed that none of the sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh made in the last several days has any first-hand corroboration.

Democrats' tactics were "the most unethical sham", he said in a fiery speech.

Graham said that if Kavanaugh "goes down, then we don't deserve to stay in power". Both of them were in high school in suburban Maryland at that time.

During the afternoon session with Kavanaugh, Mitchell was shunted aside, and the gloves came off.